Giants coach Tom Coughlin called timeout when the Redskins' lineman shifted to the left for the gadget play with 2 seconds left. So when the players returned to action, the Redskins tried the same formation again. With miserable results.

Holder/punter Hunter Smith, left exposed with just the center snapping the ball between him and three Giants pass-rushers, was drilled as he lofted a desperation heave that was intercepted by New York's Bruce Johnson.

"I contemplated just kicking the field goal after (the timeout). The play was unique enough that I didn't think they saw what we were really trying to do. But they smelled it out pretty quickly. We didn't really have a chance."

The reaction from ESPN's Monday Night Football crew (plus that from the booing FedEx Field crowd) was very unfavorable:

Mike Tirico: "What in the wide world was that? ... This is embarrassing."

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About Nate Davis

Nate Davis is a reporter, blogger and editor who's been at USA TODAY since 2000. He has covered the NFL since 2005. No, he did not play quarterback for Ball State. Davis' succession of our esteemed colleague Sean Leahy at The Huddle is considered a Brady-for-Bledsoe swap by most "insiders."More about Nate